The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia condemned the second killing in less than 48 hours of a Member of that country’s Federal Parliament. Both killings have been claimed by Al-Shabaab. A media worker for Radio Dalsan was also killed and the Special Representative called for such personnel to be able to carry out their work without fear of attack.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
Human rights investigators from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan confirmed targeted killings of civilians by the Sudan People's Liberation Army in the town of Bentiu on 15 and 16 April. Calling for those responsible to be held accountable, the Mission also extracted hundreds of civilians being threatened with violence in Bentiu and Rubkona and is currently protecting over 12,000 civilians in its base.
The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s attack on civilians and United Nations peacekeepers in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan protection-of-civilians site in Bor, in the capital of Jonglei State, in South Sudan. And UNMISS says that assailants came to the base under the guise of peaceful demonstrators intending to present a petition to UNMISS.
The Secretary-General condemns the shocking mass abduction of schoolgirls in north-eastern Nigeria on 14 April and calls for their immediate release and safe return to their families.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued its report on Ukraine today, saying that misinformation, propaganda and incitement to hatred need to be urgently countered in the country to avoid the further escalation of tension.
The Security Council met last night to discuss the deteriorating situation in Ukraine. The Secretary-General has continued to speak out for the exercise of maximum restraint by all concerned. He continues to urge all others with influence on the situation to immediately and publicly call for restraint and a return to calm.
The UN refugee aAgency says it is extremely concerned about reports of anti-Balaka militiamen preventing civilians from leaving the Central African Republic and attacking them along the way. Over the past two weeks, the Agency’s staff in Cameroon has been seeing refugees arrive with wounds from machetes or gunshots. New arrivals say militias have blocked main roads to Cameroon, forcing them to wade through the bush for two to three months before reaching the border.
The Security Council adopted resolution 2149 establishing the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. The Secretary-General trusts this decision of the international community will lead to the immediate, concrete and sustainable support that the country's people need and deserve.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that it welcomes the response by the Government of Myanmar to the events in Sittwe late last month, which caused damage to the premises of UN agencies and aid organizations. In particular, our humanitarian colleagues noted the Government’s condemnation of the violence, the President’s rapid establishment of an investigation commission and the recognition that the incident which sparked the attacks was purely unintentional.
The Secretary-General condemned the killing of an elderly priest, in Syria and expressed his concerns about continuing gross human rights violations. For the sake of families and communities across Syria, the Secretary-General again urges all Syrians and their outside supporters to put a stop to conflict.